UM Custom Rifles - Reviews

[Formidilosus]

I had a "dream" 22 Creedmoor Ace/Tikka build commissioned with UM last year. Took around 10 months, but a few months of that wait was due to manufacturing issues with Ace. Unfortunately, the delivered rifle had effectively zero chamber due to a reamer issue (not sure if undersized or simply worn down). Form even talks about his 22 creed with no throat and issues reloading for it.

The primary complaint again tracks to QC, as Blaine knowingly sent out the rifle with throat issues (I spoke to him on the phone and he described it "throating weird" and struggling on the chambering.) My guess is that the reamer was killed by Blaine chambering barrels that had already been nitrided (in my communications with UM they updated me on where my build was in the process, and that it was chambered after nitriding). A few other gunsmiths I spoke to were adamant that they would never let a reamer touch nitrided steel as that would ruin it.

Yes, they did a 22CM rechamber on a barrel for me, and yes the reamer had very little freebore- IIRC it was due to an incorrect reamer being sent to UM. UM had only done a couple (as in less 2-3) 22cm’s up till last summer- all had been for light/short varmint bullets. I quickly found the issue in my barrel, they found the issue on the reamer in a couple of days- yours and mine were only ones that found it; they ordered a new reamer immediately. I needed my barrel for a hunt, so they hand throated it to get it usable. It’s quite good now, though I cannot seat 80+ grain bullets way out. They offered to replace the barrel whenever I wanted.


It had nothing to do with a reamer being worn out.

UM offered to fix it of course, but I opted to have the rifle rebarreled by my local gunsmith and we came to an agreement on a partial refund. I'll be selling the no-throat Tikka prefit here in a few weeks as soon as I get it back.

If it is still at UM- take Jake on his offer to buy it back; I’ll have it rechambered with the correct reamer and put on a rifle for me.

Bottom line for my experience - QC is really bad, customer service is acceptable/good. Hopefully they turn things around with UM, though I'm a bit skeptical that all these spinoff companies are truly separate entities (not just separate CEO's on paper) and not just competition for the skilled labor.

Mostly ignoring that you just called him a liar… after he gave you specifics and names; you are wrong.
The actions are being made in PA by a very good group of people; the scopes are being made by a separate entity entirely that isn’t in America- I and Ryan have almost total say in design. The suppressors are being mostly designed by Ryan and I, testing is mostly what/how I say- Cliff has near total control and runs the business. The stocks are made in Florida by an entirely separate company- that no one has any say or control over.


And before anyone tries to say it- no, I am not paid by UM or any of the other companies. I started helping Ryan and Jake, because they are almost the only group/company in the industry that gives a crap about making what I actually want and need. That is functional improvements for Western backpack hunting. Almost every other “gun” company just wants to copy cat what everyone else is doing, versus looking at what will actually improve things.

Instead of nailing down quality in one endeavor they seem to be making an aggressive push for market coverage.

They are not “making a push for market coverage”. As above, they are trying to make better things. The reason that UM/S2H/whatever made a stock is because no company would make. The reason they made Tikka rings is because no other company would make it. The reason they made tikka bolt handles and knobs, is because no other company would make it. The reason they are working with a scope company and “co-branding” it- is because no scope company would listen and make it. The reason they worked with MRC in a rifle, is because no other gun company had the ability or desire to make a factory rifle correctly. The reason they are making suppressors is because no other company would make it- etc, etc, etc.


I went to multiple companies asking for the UM Tikka bolt handle and knobs- none wanted to do it- UM/S2H did. Between Ryan and I, I believe we went to every real stock company and tried to get the stock made. No one was interested, or they had absolutely ludicrous cost and timelines for it. So- S2H and UM figured the stock out. Ryan and I separately have pushed and pushed on the scope design- if a single company was interested, they would have been made and offered years ago. This goes on and on.

It isn’t about “market coverage” it’s about that you can’t get anything made unless you own it. Guess what! They’ll be a point where UM/S2H starts making bullets- why? Because no company will listen.

 

[gbflyer]

Please stop bothering UM guys so they can get those lefty Tikka .223’s squared away. Oh yeah…no one else offered to get them.

Thanks UM!

 

[Unknown Munitions]

Please stop bothering UM guys so they can get those lefty Tikka .223’s squared away. Oh yeah…no one else offered to get them.

Thanks UM!

Thank you sir, my rep Garrett says that SKU's/ Serial numbers are being issues and we should be on the production line soon. That still means several months out for us, but it happening!

The good info is that they will all come stainless 20" and threaded 5/8-24!

 

[swavescatter]

Yes, they did a 22CM rechamber on a barrel for me, and yes the reamer had very little freebore- IIRC it was due to an incorrect reamer being sent to UM. UM had only done a couple (as in less 2-3) 22cm’s up till last summer- all had been for light/short varmint bullets. I quickly found the issue in my barrel, they found the issue on the reamer in a couple of days- yours and mine were only ones that found it; they ordered a new reamer immediately. I needed my barrel for a hunt, so they hand throated it to get it usable. It’s quite good now, though I cannot seat 80+ grain bullets way out. They offered to replace the barrel whenever I wanted.


It had nothing to do with a reamer being worn out.




If it is still at UM- take Jake on his offer to buy it back; I’ll have it rechambered with the correct reamer and put on a rifle for me.




Mostly ignoring that you just called him a liar… after he gave you specifics and names; you are wrong.
The actions are being made in PA by a very good group of people; the scopes are being made by a separate entity entirely that isn’t in America- I and Ryan have almost total say in design. The suppressors are being mostly designed by Ryan and I, testing is mostly what/how I say- Cliff has near total control and runs the business. The stocks are made in Florida by an entirely separate company- that no one has any say or control over.


And before anyone tries to say it- no, I am not paid by UM or any of the other companies. I started helping Ryan and Jake, because they are almost the only group/company in the industry that gives a crap about making what I actually want and need. That is functional improvements for Western backpack hunting. Almost every other “gun” company just wants to copy cat what everyone else is doing, versus looking at what will actually improve things.






They are not “making a push for market coverage”. As above, they are trying to make better things. The reason that UM/S2H/whatever made a stock is because no company would make. The reason they made Tikka rings is because no other company would make it. The reason they made tikka bolt handles and knobs, is because no other company would make it. The reason they are working with a scope company and “co-branding” it- is because no scope company would listen and make it. The reason they worked with MRC in a rifle, is because no other gun company had the ability or desire to make a factory rifle correctly. The reason they are making suppressors is because no other company would make it- etc, etc, etc.


I went to multiple companies asking for the UM Tikka bolt handle and knobs- none wanted to do it- UM/S2H did. Between Ryan and I, I believe we went to every real stock company and tried to get the stock made. No one was interested, or they had absolutely ludicrous cost and timelines for it. So- S2H and UM figured the stock out. Ryan and I separately have pushed and pushed on the scope design- if a single company was interested, they would have been made and offered years ago. This goes on and on.

It isn’t about “market coverage” it’s about that you can’t get anything made unless you own it. Guess what! They’ll be a point where UM/S2H starts making bullets- why? Because no company will listen.

I think you still have a chip on your shoulder from when I stated that you were part owner of S2H. Here's the backstory:

During my triage with this chamber job Blaine called me to discuss it. He went out of his way to point out he had just chambered a rifle for you, and that you were part owner of S2H. Maybe he misspoke, but that it what it is. You corrected me, I apologized and stopped repeating it. I suggest you work the misinformation at the source, but I have not and will not continue repeating that.

Regarding me calling Jake a liar - that's ridiculous and you know it. A very emotional response. I said that I'm skeptical. Given someone that has had the issues I've had, and the continued struggles to deliver product, I feel very comfortable stating my skepticism that everything is as clean as it sounds. I'm not calling anyone a liar, but I do think Jake is an optimist and risk taker (none of which are bad traits). I'll be shipping my barrel back as soon as I get it from my smith and I hope they turn it into a tack driver for you.

I want to see UM succeed, and I applaud their risk tolerance for bringing novel ideas to market.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

I'm sure our 100's of satisfied rifle build customers proceeded with caution. Good advice.

You are coming across like an asshole - good move! Everybody who searches your name will get to see how you treat people on this thread…

 

[Unknown Munitions]

You are coming across like an asshole - good move! Everybody who searches your name will get to see how you treat people on this thread…

Thank you sir, I do what I can. You're fun by the way, we should get together some time. I was reading through all your other comments and stopped when I saw you say Tikkas are overrated.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

Thank you sir, I do what I can. You're fun by the way, we should get together some time. I was reading through all your other comments and stopped when I saw you say Tikkas are overrated.

I stand by that…

 

[atmat]

stopped when I saw you say Tikkas are overrated.

Okay, now this is pretty funny lol

 

[Unknown Munitions]

I stand by that…

Maybe you can come on the Shoot2Hunt podcast and give us an your unpopular perspective.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

Thank you sir, I do what I can. You're fun by the way, we should get together some time. I was reading through all your other comments and stopped when I saw you say Tikkas are overrated.

I seriously love it when sponsors come on the internet and act stupid. Its like they don’t understand customer service or how google works. I get your are feeling yourself because Ryan and Form are your buddies, its just not a good look.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

Maybe you can come on the Shoot2Hunt podcast and give us an your unpopular perspective.

Love to…

 

[PathFinder]

They've done two 6UM barreled actions for me. The first died too fast because of experimentation that was my decision. Blaine was great and we were in close communication the entire time. After rounding up another blank they got it straightened out very quickly. The gun has been great since.
The whole team from shipping/receiving to Blaine communicated well and were a pleasure to deal with. Blaine spent quite a bit of time on the phone with me to figure out what was going on and find a solution. That alone is worth being a repeat customer.
All gunsmiths seem absurdly slow to me. Not sure why it's that way, but there doesn't seem to be any exceptions for full rifle builds. Doing everything but the machine work DIY shortens the timeline considerably.

Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk

 

[ljalberta]

I have one on order. Looking forward to getting it. Sure there’s been some challenges (waiting on a Rokstok), but I will say Blaine has been a pleasure to deal with everytime I’ve spoken with him.

 

[Unknown Munitions]

I seriously love it when sponsors come on the internet and act stupid. Its like they don’t understand customer service or how google works. I get your are feeling yourself because Ryan and Form are your buddies, its just not a good look.

Google us......431 5.0 star reviews.

Our customer service is phenomenal, and unfortunately this is part of it. Educating the misinformed.

 

[Unknown Munitions]

They've done two 6UM barreled actions for me. The first died too fast because of experimentation that was my decision. Blaine was great and we were in close communication the entire time. After rounding up another blank they got it straightened out very quickly. The gun has been great since.
The whole team from shipping/receiving to Blaine communicated well and were a pleasure to deal with. Blaine spent quite a bit of time on the phone with me to figure out what was going on and find a solution. That alone is worth being a repeat customer.
All gunsmiths seem absurdly slow to me. Not sure why it's that way, but there doesn't seem to be any exceptions for full rifle builds. Doing everything but the machine work DIY shortens the timeline considerably.

Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk

Thank you for the feedback sir!

 

[Unknown Munitions]

I have one on order. Looking forward to getting it. Sure there’s been some challenges (waiting on a Rokstok), but I will say Blaine has been a pleasure to deal with everytime I’ve spoken with him.

Blaine is a Rockstar on this thread! Thank you for the feedback.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

Google us......431 5.0 star reviews.

Our customer service is phenomenal, and unfortunately this is part of it. Educating the misinformed.

Keep talking - the optics just keep getting better. Sometimes you gotta know when to shut up and move on. All you had to do was come on here and let the OP know you will take care of him and resolve peoples concerns. Instead you decide to get into it with a bunch of people on the internet. Like I said, you are coming across as an asshole. I am trying to help you out here bud. I would ask Ryan to delete this stupidity and PM those who have had problems and try and resolve them.

 

[atmat]

Keep talking - the optics just keep getting better. Sometimes you gotta know when to shut up and move on. All you had to do was come on here and let the OP know you will take care of him and resolve peoples concerns. Instead you decide to get into it with a bunch of people on the internet.

I dunno, I think it’s kind of a breath of fresh air to have a company reply with things other than the typically pillowy dialogue. It also makes me feel comfortable giving them crap about things I don’t like — cause I recognize it’s another human on the other end and not some corporate response team.

But I totally see your point that some mild snarkiness would rub some people the wrong way. If UM is okay without those folks being customers, that’s their prerogative

 

[PredatorSlayer]

I dunno, I think it’s kind of a breath of fresh air to have a company reply with things other than the typically pillowy dialogue. It also makes me feel comfortable giving them crap about things I don’t like — cause I recognize it’s another human on the other end and not some corporate response team.

But I totally see your point that some mild snarkiness would rub some people the wrong way. If UM is okay without those folks being customers, that’s their prerogative

I think T&K had a similar approach and it hurt him. Dude came back with some humility and I have been impressed with the turnaround. To me its a sign of immaturity as a business owner…whatever though, doesn’t impact my bank account. Just some free advice from a nobody on the internet.

 

[Axlrod]

Keep talking - the optics just keep getting better. Sometimes you gotta know when to shut up and move on. All you had to do was come on here and let the OP know you will take care of him and resolve peoples concerns. Instead you decide to get into it with a bunch of people on the internet. Like I said, you are coming across as an asshole. I am trying to help you out here bud. I would ask Ryan to delete this stupidity and PM those who have had problems and try and resolve them.

I don't know what your issue is, but UM coming on here is exactly what every company should do. Calling him an asshole is a sign of low intelligence. I have had dealings with UM many times, EVERYONE there has been outstanding in every way.

What company do you successfully own?